smith



(No Modeli) I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. T. S. SMITH.

BRAKE Fo-R VEHICLES. No. 412,132. Patented 001;. 1, 1889.

mammal. 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. T. S. SMITH.

BRAKE FOR VEHICLES. No. 412,132. Patented Oct. 1, 1889. I

UNITED STATES PATENT Fries.

BRAKE FOR VEHICLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 412,132, dated October1, 1889.

Application filed July 16, 1389- Serial No. 317,717- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS S. Surrn, of Washington city, in the Districtof Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inBrakes; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, andexact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, in which Figure 1 shows in plan view a pair of brakeleverswith my improved brakes thereon; Fig. 2, a view in side elevation of oneof the levers with the brake thereon; Fig.3, a similar view of the otherlever and brake; Fig. 4, a perspective view of one of the levers withthe brake attached; Fig. 5, a detail view showing in elevation the backof one of the brakeblocks; Fig. 6, a detail perspective view showing theadjustable brake-block-carrying piece and the end of the brake-leverdetached from each other, and Fig. 7 a detail bottom plan view of thebrake-block-carrying head or piece.

Letters of like name and kind refer to like parts in each ofthe figures.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved brake; and to thisend my invention consists in the brake and in the construction,arrangement, and combination of the parts thereof, as hereinafterspecified.

In my United States Patent No. 401,224 I show and describe a brake inwhich the block is attached to the brake-bar or brakeblock-carryingpiece without screws or other detachable pieces in such a way that whileit can be easily and quickly put in place it cannot work or be taken offof the bar or carrying-piece as long as the wheel upon which it is toact remains in position.

My present invention as covered in this application is intended to be animprovement upon my said patented brake.

As will be seen from the drawings and the following description, my newbrake is so constructed that while, as in my other one, the brake-blockis securely retained in place without screws, pins or other detachabledevices, it is made reversible or interchangeable, so that it can beapplied to either end of a brake-bar or to either one of a pair ofbrakelevers. In other words, the brake-blocks for both sides of a wagonare duplicates of each other, so that they can be cast in the same mold.

In my new brake I also provide for the adjustment of the position of thebrake-block to compensate for or accommodate any change in position ofthe Wheel-tire with reference to the brake bar or lever.

In the drawings, A A designate two brakelevers for carrying and movingthe brakeblocks. Such levers are, however, not necessary in connectionwith my invention. Any desired form of brakebar or brake-block-carryingdevice can be used instead.

For connecting each brake-block B with its carrying lever or bar Iprovide a head 0, consisting of a fiat shank portion adapted to restupon the end portion of the lever or bar and provided with the parallellongitudinal ribs 0 0, preferably on the under side, butnot necessarilyso. These ribs serve to engage the opposite sides of the lever or barend between them, so as to inclose the same closely. In this shankportion of the head are two or more holes 0' c for bolts G O, which passthrough longitudinal slots at a. in the lever or bar end, and have ontheir lower threaded ends suitable nuts 0 c IVith-this arrangement thehead can be most firmly and closely clamped to the carrying lever or barend when the nuts on the bolts are tightened up. The ribs engaging thesides of the bar or lever effectually prevent any swinging of the headand hold it always in line with the said brake bar or lever. When thebolt-nuts are loosened, the head O can be slid in or out upon itssupport, as the ment of the bolts O O, and can then be fixed slots at a.allow moveas slid into any desired position by tightening up the nutsagain.

On the outer end of head 0 is a stem or shank 0 preferably cylindricalin general form. lhe end of the main portion of the head at the innerend of this stem 0 forms a shoulder O against which the inner one of thesupporting ears or lugs B B on the back of the brake-block B can bear.These ears have each a cylindrical opening I) to receive the cylindricalstem C on the head C. On such stem is a lug 0 adapted when thebrakeblock is in place onthe stem to comebetween the two lugs or cars BB.

. on the stem, and is turned to take the offsets out of line with thestem-lug, such lug will efiectually hold the block from slipping orworking off. As the lug 0 comes between the ears B B on the brake-block,it can be used to prevent, by its engagement with the inner sides ofsuch ears, the longi tudinal movement of the block in either directionalong the supporting-stem as long as the block remains turned, so as tokeep the offsets b b out of line with the said lug.

In order that the brake-block may be securely held upon the stem, sothat it cannot get oif or be removed from the same while the brake is incondition for use, and the wheel upon which it is to act is in place,the ofisets in the brake-block ears I) b and the retaining-h1g0 on thestem 0 are relatively situated so as to be out of line with each otherwhen the brake-block is in operative position, as shown in Figs. 2 and3. The relative situation of the lug and oifsets is pref: erably suchthat with the brake-block in the position just described the lug will beon the side of the stem 0 diametrically opposite to the notches oroffsets.

The wheel D, to be engaged by the brakeblook, will, when in place,effectually prevent the block from being turned over, so as to bring theoffsets around to the lug, so that the block can come off of thesupportingstem. As the weight of the block would tend to swing thelatter downward around the stem 0 so as to bring its upper end intocontact with the wheel D, I provide the block 4 with a bearing bsituated between the ears b b, in position to engage the stem-lug 0 soas to hold the block from swinging down beyond its proper position oragainst the wheeltire. A second bearing or stop 12 also between the earsI) 6, serves to engage the lug c and stop the movement of the blockaround the stem 0 when such block has been swung half around the stemfrom its position just described. Such second bearing or stop is,however, not necessary, and can be dispensed with without departure frommy invention. If desired, and particularly where the brakeblock is abroad one, the stein-lug 0 can have its middle portion cut away, asindicated by dotted lines in Fig. 7. As also indicated by dotted linesin said figure, portions of the ribs 0 a between their ends can be cutaway so as tomake the head B lighter.

The operation of the parts of my brake, which will be understood fromthe foregoing. description and the drawings, is briefly asfollows;Eachbrake-block is put upon the stem 0 of the respective head bybeing turned to bring the offsets b b in line with the stem-lug 0 thenbeing slid longitudinally upon the stem until the lug c is between theears B B, and then being turned to bring the offsets out of line withthe lug and the bearing or stop 12 into engagement with the said lug. Asindicated hereinbefore, this engagement of the lug c with the stop orbearing 19 on the brake-block holds the block from turning or rockingdown too far upon the stem, so as to bring its wheel-engaging face outof proper position with reference to the wheel. The stem-lug c thenserves the double purpose of holding the block upon the supporting-stemand keeping it from swinging or rotating down around such stem. .VViththe stem-lug adapted to come between the supporting-ears B B instead ofbeyond the'outer side of one of them, and with the lug engaging bearingsurface or stop b situated also between such ears instead of on theouter side of one of them, the stem 0 can be made shorter, as it needsonly to be long enough to engage the openings b b in both ears, and Idoes not have to project through and beyond the'latter, and the blockscan be cast or oth-v erwise made as exact counterparts of each other.They are interchangeable and reversible, the one form of block beingcapable ofv use with the block-carrying head at either side of avehicle, as indicated in the drawings, wherein Figs. 2 and 3 show thesame form of block applied for use on the right and The block can alsobe left side of a vehicle. made to face either way with reference to itsrespective head, as indicated by the dotted and full lines in Fig. 2. Tochange the direction in which it will face when properly in position ona head, all that is necessary is to take it off of the head-stem 0 turnit around to bring to the inward side the car which was before outward,then slip it back on the stemand swing it around the latter until itsstop 19 engages the stem-lug and its wheel-engaging face is turned inthe desired direction.

By making my brake-blocks interchangeable and exact counterparts of eachotherIam enabled to save considerable expense in casting, as they can,as indicated hereinbefore, all

be formed in the same mold. WVith the blocks as made I can also preventinjurious unequal wear of the blocks by changing them about, putting onein place of the other. 7

My brake-block-carrying head, made adjustable in and out upon the brakebar or lever, as hereinbefore described, enables me to use a narrow andllght brake-block. Said block need not be any wider than the tire of thewheel which it is to engage, as any change in the position of such tire,either from use or as the result of a tire resetting, can be com-,pensated for by the adjustment of block-car: vrying head in or out onthe brake lever or bar. It will be observed alsothat, as, inthe. case ofthe brake-blocks, they are exact duplicates of each other and can becast in the same mold.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1. In combinationwith a piece having the stem for supporting the brake-block providedwith a lug, the brake-block having the two ears with openings throughwhich the supporting-stem passes situated on opposite sides of thestem-lug, substantially as and for the purpose shown.

2. In combination with the brake-block supporting stem provided with alug, the brakebloc-k having the two cars with openings to receive thesupporting-stem, and the stop between the ears to engage the lug on thestem to limit the swing of the block around the latter, substantially asand for the purpose set forth.

3. In combination with the supporting'stem having the lug, a brake-blockhaving the ears provided with stem-receiving openings with offsets, andthe lug-engaging stop between suchears out of line with the offsets fromthe stem-receiving openings, substantially as and for the purposedescribed.

at. In combination with a suitable head provided with a lug, thebrake-block provided with the two ears on its back, each having astem-receiving opening with an ofiset, and a stop between the earstoengage the stem-lug when the block has been turned to bring theoffsets in the ear'openings and the lug on the stem diametricallyopposite each other, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

5. In combination with the brake-block,

supporting-stem having a lug on its under side, the brake-block havingthe two ears on its back provided with the stem-receiving openings andthe ofisets from such openings, and with a stop to engage the lug on theunder side of the stem, such stop and the oitset from the openings inthe ears being out of line with each other, substantially as and for thepurpose shown.

6. A brake-block having on its back the two ears, with openings for thereception of a supporting-stem and offsets from such open ings, and astop projection between the two ears out of line with the ofisets,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

7. In combination with a head adapted to be attached to a brake bar orlever and having a stem provided with a lug projecting from thestem-periphery between its two ends, a brake-block having the two earsadapted to engage the stem on opposite sides of the lug thereon, eachprovided with a stem-receiving opening with an ofiset or notch to admitthe passage of the stem-lug as the block is slid longitudinally upon thestem, and the stop on the block between the ears out of line with theofisets or notches adapted to be engaged by the lug on the stem,substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this12th day of J uly, A. D. 1889.

' THOMAS S. SMITH.

Witnesses:

C. J. WILLIAMSON, HENRY O. HAZARD.

